UPERC moots `floating’ Photo-Voltaic solar plants for UP

Ever imagined of a lake or a river with floating solar photo voltaic cells to power the electricity grid? But that’s the idea UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has mooted to bridge the yawning gap between the demand and supply in the state.On Tuesday, the commission tabled the idea before the high level State Advisory Committee (SAC) for its nod before recommending it to the state government. Speaking to TOI, UPERC chairman, Desh Deepak Verma said that the commission would be recommending the concept to the state government for implementation as much as possible.The SAC, as a matter of fact, also has director general of Solar Power Developers Association, Shekhar Dutt on board. Dutt, a former governor of Chattisgarh, has been a keen supporter of use of solar energy to over come the crisis. According to him, each mega watt of solar power would require 20,000 sq mts of area. Given this, the country as a whole has a potential to produce 7 lakh Mw of power.”The water bodies have substantial surface area which can be tapped to install the solar voltaic cells,” said Verma. He said that this would lessen the burden on land resources while allowing use of water bodies. “That’s what is call `floating photo voltaic cells,” he said.